Bournemouth fans – myself included, naturally – have been moaning and wailing about Lewis Cook not being in the Cherries side this season.

We’ve bemoaned players like Dan Gosling and Harry Arter getting picked constantly, despite their performances being subpar. And that’s being kind to subpar performances.

This Saturday Eddie Howe finally gave us what we wanted though, as Lewis Cook got his chance in the starting eleven against Leicester City. He didn’t disappoint.

Lewis Cook?!

We saw at the end of last season that the young Englishman had talent, so it was mystifying why he was only making cup appearances so far in this campaign. Especially as he was buzzing after winning the World Cup with the England under 20s. He was even the captain for the national junior side.

In fact it was only because Dan Gosling wasn’t fully fit that he played this Saturday. Which is somewhat depressing. But if he loses his place after this weekend’s display then Eddie Howe has some serious questions to answer.

Although we admittedly didn’t beat Leicester City, we dominated the game and we should have walked away as comfortable victors.

In the opening ten minutes we had three gilt-edged chances, and on another day would have won by two or three goals. Leicester City certainly knew they got away with it this Saturday.

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Midfield mastery

A large part of that was due to Lewis Cook too, as he grew steadily in the game. His composure on the ball belies his age, and he’s always looking to play the ball forward.

Which makes a difference to players like Gosling and Arter – who in their appearances so far this season have lacked that bravery, preferring to play the ball back.

Cook also worked well with Andrew Surman, who has himself looked rejuvenated in recent matches. They both kept the ball moving up the pitch, and they could end up being our most effective midfield partnership.

The protection they give the back four was also notable, as we ended up with our first league clean sheet of the season.

Howe does he not pick him

Eddie Howe was even questioned at length about Lewis Cook’s lack of match time after the game on the local radio station, and his answers weren’t hugely convincing.

They centred around making sure he gives young players like Cook opportunities at the best possible time. What’s strange is that Cook proved last season that he could play at this level however, so it’s not like he would have been throwing Lewis in at the deep end.

In any case I think a quote from Matt Busby is very appropriate when it comes to Lewis Cook – “if you’re good enough, you’re old enough.”

There’s no doubt in my mind that Lewis Cook is more than good enough – and he must surely start against Tottenham Hotspur in our next game after the international break.